Ottawa Senators
|owner = Eugene Melnyk |general_manager = Bryan Murray |head_coach = Craig Hartsburg |video_coach = Tim Pattyson |captain = Daniel Alfredsson |alternates = Chris Phillips |minor_league_affiliates = Binghamton Senators (AHL) Elmira Jackals (ECHL) |stanley_cups = None. |conf_titles = 2006–07 |division_titles = 1998–99, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2005–06 }} The Ottawa Senators ( ) are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Senators play their home games at the 20,500 capacity Scotiabank Place (originally named the 'Palladium', and later the 'Corel Centre'). Founded and established by Ottawa real estate developer Bruce Firestone, the team is the second NHL franchise to use the Ottawa Senators nickname. The original Ottawa Senators, founded in 1883, had a famed history, winning 11 Stanley CupsNHL counts 11. Hockey Hall of Fame count is 10. and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. On December 6, 1990, after a two year public campaign by Firestone to return the NHL to Ottawa, the NHL awarded a new franchise, which began play in the 1992–93 season.Finnigan, pg. 201 The team has had two changes of ownership, from Firestone to Rod Bryden in 1993 due to the arena development process and its financing, and subsequently to Eugene Melnyk after the team filed for bankruptcy in 2003. On the ice, the club finished last in the league for its first four seasons.Garrioch, pg. 227 Today, the club is among the most successful teams in the league in the standings, qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the past 11 seasons, and in attendance. The club won the Presidents' Trophy in 2003, and the Prince of Wales Trophy in 2007. The team has several all-star players and one of the league's top lines, the 'CASH' or 'Pizza' line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley. Team history Ottawa had been home to the original Senators, a founding NHL franchise and eleven-time Stanley Cup champions. After the NHL expanded to the United States in the late 1920s, the original Senators were not able to make enough money in Ottawa to offset the increased costs. The club started selling players for cash to survive, but eventually the losses forced the franchise to move to St. Louis in 1934. Fifty-four years later, after the NHL announced its plans to expand, real estate developer Bruce Firestone thought that Ottawa was now ready for another franchise. His firm Terrace Investments did not have enough assets to finance the team, but had a strategy to leverage a land development to finance the team. In 1989, after finding a suitable site on farmland west of Ottawa, Terrace announced its intentions to win a franchise and launched the "Bring Back the Senators" campaign to woo the public and convince the NHL. Public support was high and the team would secure over 11,000 season ticket pledges.Finnigan, pp. 196-197 On 1990-12-06, the NHL approved a franchise to start play in the 1992–93 season. 1992-1996: First seasons The new Senators played their first game on 1992-10-08, in the Ottawa Civic Centre against the Montreal Canadiens with lots of pre-game spectacle. The Senators would defeat the Canadiens 5–3, one of the few highlights that season. The club would tie with the San Jose Sharks for the worst record in the league, winning only 10 games with 70 losses and 4 ties for 24 points, three points better than the NHL record. The Senators had aimed low and considered it a success. Firestone had set beating the old record the Senators' goal for the season, as the team planned to finish low in the standings for its first few years in order to get high draft picks.MacGregor(1993), pg. 250 GM Mel Bridgman was fired after the season and team president Randy Sexton took over GM duties. Firestone himself left the team and Rod Bryden took over. The strategy of aiming low and getting good draft picks did not change. The Senators finished last the next three seasons. Although the Senators made a mistake in picking 'draft bust' Alexandre Daigle in 1993, they chose Radek Bonk in 1994, Bryan Berard (traded for Wade Redden) in 1995 and Chris Phillips in 1996, all who became solid NHL players, and forming a strong core of players in later years. The team traded several of their better players of the period, including 1992–93 leading scorer Norm Maciver, Mike Peluso and Bob Kudelski for 'prospects.' In December 1995, after three straight last-place finishes, contract hold-outs and declining arena attendance, Sexton himself was fired and replaced by Pierre Gauthier, the assistant GM of Anaheim. Before the end of January, Gauthier had resolved the hold-outs and hired Jacques Martin as head coach. While Ottawa finished last again, the 1995–96 season ended with renewed optimism, partly from the debut of Daniel Alfredsson, who won the Calder Memorial Trophy NHL Rookie of the Year Award.Garrioch, pg. 227 1996–2004: Jacques Martin era Martin would impose a "strong defense first" philosophy that led to the team qualifying for the playoffs every season that he coached, but he was criticized for the team's lack of success in the playoffs, notably losing four straight series against the provincial rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Martin outlasted several general managers and a change in ownership. In 1996–97, his first season, the club qualified for the playoffs in the last game of the season, and nearly defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the first round. In 1997–98, the club finished with their first winning record and upset the heavily favoured New Jersey Devils to win their first playoff series. In 1998–99, the Senators jumped from 14th overall in the previous season to 3rd, with 103 points--the first 100-point season in club history, only to be swept in the first round. In 1999–2000 despite the holdout of team captain Alexei Yashin, Martin guided the team to the playoffs, only to lose to the Maple Leafs in the first 'Battle of Ontario' series. Yashin returned for 2000–01 and the team improved to win their division and place second in the Eastern Conference. Yashin played poorly in another playoff loss to the Maple Leafs and he was traded to the New York Islanders for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt, and a first round pick used to draft Jason Spezza. Without Yashin, the 2001–02 Senators regular season points total dropped, but in the playoffs, they upset the Philadelphia Flyers for the franchise's second playoff series win. This led to a second round series with Toronto, and the third straight loss to the Maple Leafs. Despite speculation that Martin would be fired, it was GM Marshall Johnston who left, retiring from the team , replaced by John Muckler, the Senators' first with previous GM experience. In 2002–03 off-ice problems dominated the headlines, as the Senators filed for bankruptcy in mid-season, but continued play after getting emergency financing. Despite the off-ice problems, Ottawa had an outstanding season, placing first overall in the NHL to win the President's Trophy. In the playoffs they came within one game of making it into the finals. Prior to the 2003–04 season, pharmaceutical billionaire Eugene Melnyk would purchase the club to bring financial stability. Martin would guide the team to another good regular season but in the first round the Leafs would again defeat the Senators, leading to Martin's dismissal as management felt that a new coach was required for playoff success. 2004–present: Bryan Murray era After the playoff loss, owner Melnyk promised that changes were coming and they came quickly. In June 2004, Anaheim Ducks GM Bryan Murray of nearby Shawville, became head coach. That summer, the team also made substantial personnel changes, trading long-time players Patrick Lalime and Radek Bonk, and signing free agent goaltender Dominik Hasek. The team would not be able to show its new lineup for a year, as the 2004–05 NHL lockout intervened and most players playing in Europe or in the minors. In a final change, just before the 2005–06 season, the team traded long-time player Marian Hossa for Dany Heatley. The media predicted the Senators to be Stanley Cup contenders in 2005–06, as they had a strong core of players returning, played in an up-tempo style fitting the new rule changes and Hasek was expected to provide top-notch goaltending. The team rushed out of the gate, winning 19 of the first 22 games, in the end winning 52 games and 113 points, placing first in the conference, and second overall. The newly-formed 'CASH' line of Alfredsson, Spezza and newly-acquired Dany Heatley established itself as one of the league's top offensive lines. Hasek played well until he was injured during the 2006 Winter Olympics , forcing the team to enter the playoffs with rookie netminder Ray Emery as their starter. Without Hasek, the club bowed out in a second round loss to the Buffalo Sabres. and the following year.]] 2006–07: Trip to the Stanley Cup Finals In 2006–07, the Senators reached the Stanley Cup Finals after qualifying for the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons. The Senators had a high turn-over of personnel and the disappointment of 2006 to overcome and started the season poorly. Trade rumours swirled around Daniel Alfredsson for most of the last months of 2006. The team lifted itself out of last place in the division to nearly catch the Buffalo Sabres by season's end, placing fourth in the Eastern Conference. The team finished with 105 points, their fourth straight 100 point season and sixth in the last eight. In the playoffs, Ottawa continued its good play. Led by the 'CASH' line, goaltender Ray Emery, and the strong defense of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov, the club defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, the second-ranked New Jersey Devils, and the top-ranked Buffalo Sabres to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. Daniel Alfredsson improved his play in the 2007 playoffs, tallying a playoff leading 22 points]] ;First Stanley Cup finals in the capital in 80 years The 2006–07 Senators thus became the first Ottawa team to be in the Stanley Cup final since 1927 and the city was swept up in the excitement. Businesses along all of the main streets posted large hand-drawn 'Go Sens Go' signs, residents put up large displays in front of the their homes or decorated their cars. A large Ottawa Senators flag was draped on the City Hall, along with a large video screen showing the games. A six-story likeness of Daniel Alfredsson was hung on the Corel building. Rallies were held outside of City Hall, car rallies of decorated cars paraded through town and a section of downtown, dubbed the 'Sens Mile', was closed off to traffic during and after games for fans to congregate. In the final, the Senators now faced the Anaheim Ducks, considered the favourite since the start of the season, a team the Senators had last played in 2006, and a team known for its strong defense. The Ducks won the first two games in Anaheim 2–1 and 1–0. Returning home, the Senators won game three 5–3, but lost game four 3–2. The Ducks won game five 6–2 in Anaheim to clinch the series. The Ducks had played outstanding defense, shutting down the 'CASH' line, forcing Murray to split up the line. The Ducks scored timely goals and Ducks' goaltender Giguere out-played Emery. 2007–08: Stanley Cup hangover The Senators made major changes in their hockey staff during the off-season. On Sunday, June 17, 2007 general manager John Muckler was fired; he had been in the last year of his contract. Head coach Bryan Murray was promoted to GM. On July 5, 2007 he hired his nephew Tim Murray as assistant GM, followed by the promotion of assistant coach John Paddock to head coach on July 6, 2007. On August 15, goaltending coach Ron Low was named as assistant coach and Eli Wilson was named goaltending coach. Assistant coach Greg Carvel retained his duties. On November 5, 2007, the Ottawa Senators set a franchise record eighth straight win with their victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. On November 6, six Senators were named to the All-Star Game ballot: Daniel Alfredsson, Ray Emery, Dany Heatley, Chris Phillips, Wade Redden and Jason Spezza, the most from any one team in the NHL. The CASH line was named to the All-Star roster in its entirety: Alfredsson to the starting lineup and Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza as reserves. On January 24, 2008 Alfredsson recorded a franchise record 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) against the Tampa Bay Lightning, taking over the NHL scoring lead momentarily. After the hot start, a prolonged slump through January and February occurred during which the Senators won only 7 of 21 games, and Murray fired head coach Paddock and assistant coach Ron Low, on February 27, 2008, taking over the coaching duties himself. After the coaching switch, team performance improved, but did not match the performance of the beginning of the season. A playoff spot was in doubt until the Senators' last game of the season, a loss to Boston, but the team qualified due to Carolina losing. After all other games were played, the team ended up as the 7th seed and faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round, a repeat of the 2006-2007 Eastern Conference quarter final. The Senators lost the series 4–0, the third time they were swept in a first-round series. The result, after going to the finals the previous season, led to speculation by the media that the team would make a large change in personnel before next season, including the buying out of Ray Emery and the Senators not re-signing their free agents. 2008–09 and beyond After a disappointing 2007–08 season, Senators management promised change and the off-season was filled with changes, in management and on-ice personnel. On Friday, June 13, 2008, the Senators named Craig Hartsburg, coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the new head coach after interviewing Bob Hartley and Peter DeBoer as candidates. Hartsburg signed a three-year agreement with the Senators. The Senators named Curtis Hunt from the Regina Pats as assistant coach. On the player side, the first change was the buy-out of goaltender Ray Emery following a difficult season. Long-time Senator Wade Redden was not re-signed, and 2007–08 trade pickups Mike Commodore Cory Stillman and Martin Lapointe were not re-signed. Brian McGrattan and Andrej Meszaros were traded, Meszaros after a contract dispute. From the free agent market the Senators signed goaltender Alex Auld, defenseman Jason Smith and Jarkko Ruutu. For Meszaros, defensemen Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a 2009 first round pick (originally from San Jose) were received from the Tampa Bay Lightning. To start the 2008–09 season, the Senators played their first-ever games in Europe, starting in Gothenburg, Sweden, playing Daniel Alfredsson's former, and home-town, team Frolunda HC. The Senators then started the regular season with two games in Stockholm, Sweden against the Pittsburgh Penguins, splitting the results in a 4-3 overtime loss and a 3–1 win. 2013 Playoffs Dans les quarts de finale, les Sens ont battu le Canadien 4-1. Dans les demi-finales ils affrontent les Pingouins de Pittsburgh, l'equipe de Sidney Crosby. Team information Logo and jersey design The team colours are red, black and white, with added trim of gold. The team's away jersey is mostly white with red and black trim, while the home jersey is red, with white and black trim. The club logo is officially the head of a Roman general, a member of the Senate of the Roman Empire, projecting from a gold circle. The original, unveiled on May 23, 1991, described the general as a "centurion figure, strong and prominent" according to its designer, Tony Milchard. The current jersey design was unveiled on 2007-08-22, in conjunction with the league-wide adoption of the Rbk EDGE jerseys by Reebok for the 2007–08 season. . The jersey incorporates the original Senators' 'O' logo as a shoulder patch. At the same time, the team updated its logos, and switched their usage. The primary logo, which according to team owner Eugene Melnyk, "represents strength and determination" is an update of the old secondary logo. The old primary logo has become the team's secondary logo and only appears on Senators' merchandise. Broadcasting On television, home and away games are broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet and A-Channel within the Ottawa River valley and Eastern Ontario. Rogers Sportsnet also broadcasts Senators games in the Maritime provinces as part of its 'Sportsnet East' network. CBC's Hockey Night in Canada and The Sports Network broadcast the Senators nationally in Canada. Starting in the 2006–07 seasons, several games were only available in video on pay-per-view or at local movie theatres in the Ottawa area. The "Sens TV" service was suspended as of September 24, 2008, but it may return for 2009–10. On radio, all home and away games are broadcast on a network of local stations in eastern Ontario. The 'flagship' radio station is the Ottawa station 'Team 1200', which produces the broadcasts and provides the play-by-play announcers. The Team 1200 audio is available over the Internet, and games are simulcast from the NHL main web site. Attendance and Revenues On April 18, 2008, the club announced its final attendance figures for 2007–08. The club had 40 sell-outs out of 41 home dates, a total attendance of 812,665 during the regular season, placing the club 3rd in attendance in the NHL. The number of sell-outs and the total attendance were both club records. The previous attendance records were set during the 2005–06 with a season total of 798,453 and 33 sell-outs. In 2006–07 regular season attendance was 794,271, with 31 sell-outs out of 41 home dates or an average attendance of 19,372. In the 2007 playoffs, the Senators played 9 games with 8 sell-outs and an attendance of 181,272 for an average of 20,141, the highest in team history. On October 29, 2008, a Forbes Magazine report valued the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club at $207 million, (13th highest in NHL) with an operating income of $4.7 million on revenues of $96 million in 2006-78. Revenues were the team's highest in its history, while operating income was down from 2006–07 when the Senators had more playoff games. The gate receipts for the 2006-07 season were $50 million. Forbes estimates that the organization has a debt/value ratio of 63%, including arena debt. Eugene Melnyk bought the team for $92 million in 2003. Arena entertainment At many home games the fans are entertained both outside and inside Scotiabank Place with a myriad of talent - live music, rock bands, giveaways and promotions. The live music includes the traditional Scottish music of the 'Sons of Scotland Pipe Band' of Ottawa along with highland dancers. Before and during games, entertainment is provided by Spartacat, the official mascot of the Senators, an anthropomorphic lion. He made his debut on the Senators' opening night: October 8, 1992. Anthems are usually sung by O.P.P officer Lyndon Slewidge. Sens Army The fans of the Senators are known as the Sens Army. Like most hockey fanatics, they are known to dress up for games; most in some sort of Roman legionary clothing. For the 2006-2007 playoff run, more fans then ever before would wear red, and fan activities included 'Red Rallies' of decorated cars, fan rallies at Ottawa City Hall Plaza and the 'Sens Mile' along Elgin Street where fans would congregate. Sens Mile Much like the Red Mile in Calgary during the Flames' 2004 cup run and the Blue Mile in Edmonton during the Oilers' 2006 cup run, Ottawa Senators fans took to the streets to celebrate their team's success during the 2006-07 playoffs. The idea to have a 'Sens Mile' on the downtown Elgin Street, a street with numerous restaurants and pubs, began as a grassroots campaign on Facebook by Ottawa residents before Game 4 of the Ottawa-Buffalo Eastern Conference Final series. After the Game 5 win, Ottawa residents closed the street to traffic for a spontaneous celebration. The City of Ottawa then closed Elgin Street for each game of the Final. Team record ;All-time As of the end of the 2007–08 season. ;Season by Season This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Senators. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Ottawa Senators seasons ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes'' Records as of end of the 2007-08 NHL season. Hockeydb.com, Ottawa Senators season statistics and records. :1 As of the 2005-06 NHL season, all games will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (Shootout losses). Players Current roster Team Captains *Laurie Boschman, 1992-93 *Mark Lamb, Brad Shaw, Gord Dineen, 1993–94 *No captain, 1994-95 (lockout) *Randy Cunneyworth, 1995–98 *Alexei Yashin, 1998–99 *Daniel Alfredsson, 1999–present Honoured members Hall of Famers * Roger Neilson - Senators assistant coach & head coach (2001–03), was inducted on November 4, 2002 (as a Builder) for his career in NHL coaching. Retired numbers *'8' - Frank Finnigan, on opening night, October 8, 1992. Finnigan was honoured for his play from 1923 through 1934 for the original Ottawa Senators (as a right wing, 1923-31 & 1932-34). He was the last surviving Senator from the Stanley Cup winners of 1927 and participated in the 'Bring Back The Senators' campaign. *'99' - Wayne Gretzky, on February 6, 2000. Gretzky's sweater number was retired league-wide by the NHL. *'Source:' First-round draft picks Source: *1992: Alexei Yashin (2nd overall) *1993: Alexandre Daigle (1st overall) *1994: Radek Bonk (3rd overall) *1995: Bryan Berard (1st overall) *1996: Chris Phillips (1st overall) *1997: Marian Hossa (12th overall) *1998: Mathieu Chouinard (15th overall) *1999: Martin Havlat (26th overall) *2000: Anton Volchenkov (21st overall) *2001: Jason Spezza (2nd overall) & Tim Gleason (23rd overall) *2002: Jakub Klepis (16th overall) *2003: Patrick Eaves (29th overall) *2004: Andrej Meszaros (23rd overall) *2005: Brian Lee (9th overall) *2006: Nick Foligno (28th overall) *2007: Jim O'Brien (29th overall) *2008: Erik Karlsson (15th overall) Team scoring leaders These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history, post-1992, after the 2007-08 season: ''Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * current Senators player'' Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. Totals contain only games played for Ottawa. Sources: † A. B. C. D. E. NHL awards and trophies Presidents' Trophy *2002–03 Prince of Wales Trophy *2006–07 Calder Memorial Trophy *Daniel Alfredsson: 1995–96 NHL Plus/Minus Award *Wade Redden: 2005–06 (shared with Michal Rozsival of the New York Rangers) Jack Adams Award *Jacques Martin: 1998–99 NHL All-Rookie Team *Daniel Alfredsson: 1995–96 *Sami Salo: 1998–99 *Marian Hossa: 1998–99 *Martin Havlat: 2000–01 *Andrej Meszaros: 2005–06 NHL First All-Star Team *Dany Heatley: 2006–07 NHL Second All-Star Team *Alexei Yashin: 1998–99 *Dany Heatley: 2005–06 Team records Source: See also * Battle of Ontario * Bell Sensplex * List of NHL players * List of NHL seasons * List of ice hockey teams in Ontario * Lyndon Slewidge References Bibliography * * * * * * * * * Notes External links *The Official website of the Ottawa Senators }} be-x-old:Атава Сэнатарз bg:Отава Сенатърс cs:Ottawa Senators da:Ottawa Senators de:Ottawa Senators es:Ottawa Senators fr:Sénateurs d'Ottawa hr:Ottawa Senators id:Ottawa Senators it:Ottawa Senators he:אוטווה סנטורס hu:Ottawa Senators nl:Ottawa Senators ja:オタワ・セネターズ no:Ottawa Senators pl:Ottawa Senators pt:Ottawa Senators ru:Оттава Сенаторз simple:Ottawa Senators sk:Ottawa Senators sh:Ottawa Senators fi:Ottawa Senators sv:Ottawa Senators uk:Оттава Сенаторс zh:渥太華參議員 Category:Ottawa Senators Category:Sports clubs established in 1992 Category:Sport in Ottawa